


When It Snows In Hell

by BloodFrost



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), kylux - Fandom
Genre: Captain Phasma, Eventual kylux, Fluff, Friendship, Gay, General Hux - Freeform, Kylo Ren - Freeform, Kylux - Freeform, M/M, Rivalry, Romance, Star Wars - Freeform, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) - Freeform, Star Wars: All Media Types - Freeform, Starkiller Base, The First Order, kylux fluff, odd couple, supreme leader snoke - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-15 10:05:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11228727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodFrost/pseuds/BloodFrost
Summary: Supreme Leader Snoke is an intelligent being; wise, an excellent leader, and extraordinarily patient.Yet even his patience is tested at the constant bickering and unhealthy competitiveness between his two top associates in the First Order: his General, Armitage Hux, and his apprentice, Kylo Ren.The destruction of Starkiller Base brings the two men's incompetence in teamwork and communication to the forefront of Snoke's mind, and he makes a decision to do something drastic to force these two to learn to cooperate with each other.That is, if they don't drive each other crazy, first.((I got the idea to write this story from this one fan art picture I saw a while ago, where General Hux and Kylo Ren are sitting in chairs next to each other, being forced to hold hands in what I assume to be a punishment. Both are covering their faces, heads down in embarrassment as their fellow officers look on.))





	1. Chapter 1

Kamino was cold, and wet.

This planet has once boasted impressive facilities and towering buildings, in which a staggering amount of clones were created during The Clone Wars, which immediately preceded the beginning rule of the Galactic Empire.

Since those days had ended, this section of the galaxy had turned into little more than a wasteland. Trade and commerce fell to the wayside as the few remaining inhabitants packed up and left the dying planet, essentially leaving it free for the taking.

Supreme Leader Snoke was never one to waste opportunity, and this particular planet had been at the top of his mental list to set up a second base, should something ever happen to Starkiller.

Which, of course, it did.

Their magnificent sun-draining weapon and beautiful base had been vanquished due to rebel attack, taking out not only the planet, but nearly half of the once-impressive army, countless personnel, crew, engineers, maintenance, officers, equipment, and a score of other things.

Replacing all of this, while at the same time building a new base and beginning construction on a new weapon, was both difficult and time-consuming.

Because of this, Snoke had been holding back on a discussion he knew he needed to have with the two men he held primarily responsible for the situation they were in.

General Hux, and Lord Kylo Ren.

Both intelligent, talented individuals in their own rights.

General Hux was one of the sharpest minds that Snoke had ever come across, in his long, long life. His strategizing, organizational and planning prowess was second only to Snoke himself; and, in fact, it was due largely to Hux and his level-headed pragmatism that the new base had progressed along as far as it had, already.

Lord Ren was powerful, and strong. There was an energy about him, a charisma that was difficult for even the most hardened of people to ignore. Snoke had kept a watchful eye on this man since he was a boy, and was drawn to him for his raw power and unlimited potential. 

Separately, these two men were forces to be reckoned with, and intimidating additions to the empire of The First Order.

Together, well, that was a different story.

Almost since the day the two met, they were in constant competition with each other, in regards to receiving praise and favoritism from Supreme Leader Snoke. They came to blows quite often, both verbally and physically, and often at the critical moments when Snoke needed them to work together.

He thought of all these things now, as he called them into his chambers. 

It had been about a month after they had settled at the new base, and both men had been dreading this inevitable meeting. Each had an arsenal of words and accusations that they were ready to fling at the other; each chomping at the bit to lay blame for the Starkiller snafu.

As was often the case, after Snoke had spoken to them quietly, and asked if either had anything they wanted to say, Ren spoke up first, loud and insistent.

"I would like to start this off by saying what everyone is thinking: this is entirely, one thousand and one percent General Hux's fault."

"MY fault?!", the General shouted, snapping his head in Ren's direction. "YOUR father was the one who wired the ship with explosives. And it was your MOTHER and her little band of miscreants that managed to blow up our base. How, exactly, is ANY of this MY fault?"

"How do you think they got in here in the first place? FN-2187. That's right; one of YOUR soldiers gave the Rebels valuable intel in regards to Starkiller's schematics. Tell me something; is High Treason something you program your men with during basic training, or is that a specialized course?"

Hux grit his teeth, his face turning red with anger.

"You can't fault my entire army based on the misguided actions of ONE stormtrooper, Ren. But speaking of FN-2187; do you know who he was collaborating with? That girl. That lowly little scavenge girl. 'Strong with the Force', my eye! Not only could you not get the map from her mind, you almost got your idiot self killed by her in a lightsaber battle! EXPLAIN THAT, Ren! EXPLAIN how Snoke's had you training for YEARS with that Jedi nonsense, and some girl who'd never even SEEN a kriffing lightsaber before came THIS CLOSE to ending your life!"

Ren dove into him with a savage snarl, and the two rolled along the floor, punching and kicking.

"ENOUGH!", roared Snoke, as the guards intervened to pull apart the knight and the General.

"I have had it with the both of you! I place equal blame on each of your shoulders for the horrendous fate of Starkiller."

He rose from his seat and came to stand directly in front of them, looking at each one in turn.

"The biggest cause of all of this has to do with your lack of communication, and teamwork, with each other. I have tried to drill it into your heads that YOU NEED TO LEARN TO WORK TOGETHER; but quite obviously I've failed in my quest. Perhaps it's time I tried a different tactic."

He grabbed Ren's right hand and Hux's left, and smashed them together. While both men were looking at him in a confused silence, Snoke raised his other hand over the joined hands of the two men, closing his eyes and chanting something to himself.

Eventually he opened his eyes, and smiled.

"There. Now you'll be forced to learn to work together, whether you want to or not."

Ren tried to remove his hand from the grasp of Hux, and found that he couldn't. Hux tried to do the same, and found himself in the same predicament.

"Master . . . surely you're not serious?"

"I am, Ren. You two will remain joined for the next 7 days. The only time your hands will come loose from each other is to use the refresher, and to change clothes. Otherwise, you will work as a team. You will eat together. You will sleep together. You will accompany one another at meetings and training, respectively. One week. Now, dismiss."

"Supreme Leader, can't we . . ."

"I said dismiss, General," Snoke said with a weary smile. "I would suggest you leave now, before I think up something far worse for the two of you."

The men hurried from the room, their faces flush with embarrassment at their humiliating punishment.

Once in the hallway, Hux hissed at him, "You absolute idiot. Look at the mess you've gotten us into!"

"Me? This is just as much your fault as it is mine!"

"If you hadn't . . .", the General began, then stopped himself. Taking a calming breath, he said, "Okay. It won't help us now to fight. We're stuck in this situation for a week; we may as well make the best of it."

Ren nodded reluctantly. "I suppose you're right."

He yawned, and twisted his free arm up to look at his watch. 

"2200 hours. I'm tired. Whose quarters are we sleeping in; mine or yours?"

"Neither, at the moment. I have at least 2 hours of paperwork in my office, Ren. Then I have to plan out tomorrow's meeting."

Ren looked at him in disgusted disbelief, then gave a heavy sigh. "I don't suppose you keep a blanket, or pillow in your office, do you?"

"Nope."

"This is going to be a long week," Ren groaned, as they walked together towards Hux's office.


	2. Chapter 2

DAY ONE  
>>>>•>>>>

"Maker, it's amazing I could get any sleep at all. You literally talk all night long!"

"I do not," Ren said with a scowl.

"You do. Names, places, conversations with imaginary people . . . at one point, you actually started singing. SINGING, Ren! Do you have any idea how annoying that is?!"

"You're not perfect, either, General. You toss and turn so much it's like being on a speeder! I thought you were going to snap my arm off!"

It was morning, and Ren and Hux were sitting at Hux's kitchen table after their first night together. After having inspected Ren's quarters and finding them to be 'unsuitable' (actually, 'filthy' was probably more accurate), Hux deigned that the week would be spent in his.

They had packed a week's worth of Ren's clothes and brought them over to Hux's quarters. As Snoke promised, their hands came blessedly apart as they used the refresher and got dressed for the day. Once they were both finished, like magnets their hands were drawn together again, seeming as though they were welded with iron.

Hux had one handedly made them breakfast, or rather, he made Ren food, and himself a pot of tea. Ren watched as he tagged along beside him, impressed in spite of himself. He hadn't suspected that the General could cook at all; much less without the use of an entire arm.

Ren finished first, and looked at the General impatiently. 

"Hurry up, Hux. I've got to meet Snoke for training in 20 minutes."

Hux nodded. He had never been privy to a training session between Snoke and his apprentice before; and had always been curious to see what the meetings entailed.

When they got to the little outdoor garden that Snoke and Ren trained in, Hux couldn't help but close his eyes and take a deep breath. So many flowers! So many different scents floating through the air.

"Ah, gentleman; I'm glad to see you both. And so close," Snoke said mockingly, looking pointedly at their joined hands.

They gritted their teeth and bowed, but said nothing.

"I'm afraid, Lord Ren, that we can't do much physical training while you're in this situation with the General. So this week we'll focus primarily on mental stimulation and exercises, beginning with meditation."

"Yes, Master," Ren said. He turned to Hux and said, calmly, "We have to sit on the ground for this part. Come on," before gently lowering himself to the grass, and slowly lowering Hux to do the same.

Which Hux (accurately) suspected he only did, because Snoke was there. If he hadn't been, Ren would have just sat down, yanking on their joined hands as hard as he could til the General was forced to sit beside him. Probably spilling him into the mud in the process.

"This might be beneficial to you, General. A good chance to clear out the mind for the upcoming tasks of the day."

Snoke gave Hux a detailed explanation of what to think about, and how to control his breathing, before he fell into silence along with Ren, the meditation having begun.

Hux tried to do as Snoke instructed Ren, but it was difficult. His mind was always galloping, racing ahead, and it was intensely difficult for him to just stop, and focus on the 'now' of things.

He looked at Ren and Snoke, who both had their eyes closed, and was suddenly aware of a powerful feeling inside of his brain.

A flood of emotions and thoughts were entering his mind, but none of them were his own. It was difficult to pick out individual words from the soft steady babble, but Hux could just barely make out 'grandfather' and 'destiny'.

I must be hearing Ren's mind, Hux thought to himself in amazement. It was a bizarre experience, and scary. There were so many different feelings coming from the dark haired man that Hux felt nauseous, trying to keep up with it all. He was also aware of a strong sense of negativity, of self-doubt, that came from Ren.

Does he think like this all the time?, Hux wondered to himself in amazement. Maker, how does he stand that? How does he not go insane with it?

When it was over, the thoughts went away as soon as Ren opened his eyes again.

Hux spent the next half hour watching as Ren lifted objects with his mind, from boulders to pillars, swirling them around and around over their heads in varying patterns. At one point, Snoke called in a group of 4 stormtroopers, and Ren practiced 'projecting' onto them. One soldier started laughing hysterically, another crying. Another was doubled over on the ground, screaming in pain, and the final was forced to walk and run varying degrees away from them as Ren practiced freezing him into place and mentally dragging him back towards them.

At last the troopers were dismissed, and Snoke began to talk to Hux, detailing the things he wanted discussed at the upcoming meeting.

~~~

"Forgive me, General, if this is an impertinent question; but my curiosity is quite overwhelming. Have you . . . "

Ren turned toward her and glared, his eyes burning darkly in his pale face.

"Take that disgusting thought out of your mind, Captain, before I take it out for you," he growled.

Hux looked at him in confusion. "Did I miss something?"

"I was only wondering if . . . "

"She was going to ask if whether we're now in a relationship," Ren interrupted her, still glaring. 

It was after the meeting, and Hux and Ren sat in the large conference room, at the head of the mostly-empty table. Hux was looking over his notes of the meeting and talking about them to Captain Phasma, with whom he was friends.

All throughout the meeting, Ren was aware that everyone's eyes were continually pulled to the sight of Ren and Hux's joined hands, and he could sense that every mind in the room was burning up with curiosity about it. None more so than Captain Phasma.

Hux acted as though nothing was amiss, even when he had to stand several times to go over various charts, and Ren was forced to stand with him, brooding and silent.

What made it worse (at least to Ren) was the fact that he was bare-faced throughout the entire meeting. He had lost his carefully customized helmet in the aftermath explosions of Starkiller, and he had yet to create a new one. Many of the men and women in here had never seen his actual face before, including Phasma, and the minds in the room had a difficult time deciding whether to focus more on the hands issue, or the face one.

Hux began to laugh, now, at Phasma's assumption, as she hurried on:

"Well, honestly, its the only reason I could think of for--for THAT," she said, pointing at their joined hands. Now she turned to Ren. "I'm not the only one wondering about it, either, as I'm sure you've picked up on by now. A lot of people are wondering whether you've just plain lost your minds."

"I have," Ren muttered, laying his head down on the table. "HE doesn't HAVE a mind to lose, though."

Hux ignored this, and launched into a small explanation of how they had come to be virtual prisoners to each other.

When he was through, Phasma shook her head slowly. 

"Remind me to never make Snoke angry. I couldn't handle 7 hours of this, let alone 7 days."

Ren looked at her angrily. "Is there a reason you're still here, Captain? Shouldn't you be out on the training grounds or something?"

"I'm sorry, my Lord. But I do have reason for being here; I have several things I need to go over with the General," she said, holding up a thick handful of documents.

Ren sighed, and occupied himself with reading over Hux's notes on the meeting, as Hux and Phasma discussed the combative training regimen of the stormtroopers.

When they were finally finished, Phasma began gathering up her papers. She hesitated, then spoke to Ren.

"Lord Ren, may I say something?"

He looked up at her and nodded.

"Your face; its, well, I don't think you should make a new helmet. You don't need one. Not at all."

She stood up in the hurry and, after bidding goodbye to both of them, walked swiftly from the room.

There was a silence, and then Hux began gathering up his papers and charts from the table.

"She's right, you know," he said after a while, glancing at Ren. "Of course, what you do or don't do with your own face isn't any of my concern. But, in my OPINION; if I had a face like yours, I'd never cover it up. Ever."

Ren didn't quite know what to respond, so he settled for a quiet, sheepish "Thank you."

Hux must have felt that he was being far too nice to Ren; he pulled a pack of smoke-sticks from his pocket and shook one out, thrusting it between his lips and lighting a match to it. He inhaled deeply, then blew a thick cloud of smoke directly into Ren's face.

As Ren coughed and cursed, Hux said, with a grin,

"And it looks even better, all scrunched up like that," before lobbing another cloud at him.


	3. Chapter 3

DAY TWO  
>>>>•>>>>

Kylo opened his eyes and found himself looking, again, at Hux.

Yesterday hadn't been as bad as he had feared it would be, regarding their situation. Far from ideal, of course, but not horrific.

He lifted his head slightly and glanced at the clock on the dresser. 0500 hours. They didn't have to be up yet for another hour, at least.

He laid his head back down on the pillow and looked sleepily at Hux.

This was the only time of the day, or really, the only time in the entire span of time that the two had known each other, when Hux looked calm. Unworried.

Peaceful.

During the night hours Hux twisted around restlessly in his sleep, and Ren was often forced to move with him, their hands being joined together. But no matter what his body was doing, Hux's FACE remained smooth and unbothered.

Ren had never gotten this close to the General, before, in a physical sense. He hadn't noticed before, the gold-new freckles that lightly sprayed over Hux's cheeks and nose. Or his eyelashes, thick and orange, perfectly matching the color of his hair, which was sticking up in messy little tufts around his pillow.

He's so thin, Ren thought to himself, as he laid there and looked at the sleeping redhead. Well, I guess that shouldn't be a surprise; he hardly eats anything.

At every meal they had been to yesterday, Hux would either pick at the food on his tray, or eat nothing at all. The one thing he would consume a great deal of was tea, as he slammed down cup after cup the same way cantina patrons would take down alcohol.

He was also an avid smoker of smoke-sticks, which Ren found to be disgusting. It reminded him of the pipes his father used to smoke, and the way the smell clung to everything in their house.

He doesn't eat, he worries all the time and he smokes too much. If he doesn't get himself under control, he'll be dead before he hits 40. 

Ren didn't know why that particular thought made him sad, but it did. He found himself wondering why the General didn't at least have a girlfriend, to relieve at least some of the stress he faced every day.

A few years back, Hux HAD been in a relationship with a woman, a Lieutenant named Jysella Harchem. Ren didn't remember her all that well; except that she was nice, and she was pretty. Very pretty. They had gone together for so long that Ren (and even Snoke) had assumed that they would eventually marry.

Then a day came when Jysella had been sent to take command of one of the trading outposts controlled by The First Order. She left, and never came back.

Neither Hux nor Snoke had ever given an explanation for this, and at the time, Ren had not been interested enough to ask . . . or to care.

Now, laying here and thinking about it, he thought that he would ask Hux about it, sometime when the General seemed in a decent mood.

Then again, maybe not.

Ren yawned, and found that he was hungry. He wanted to make something for breakfast, but didn't particularly want to wake Hux in doing so.

He thought about it, then extended his other hand towards Hux, rendering him in a state of unbreakable sleepiness. He shook him several times, and once he was sure he wouldn't wake up, levitated him out of the bed and into the kitchen alongside Ren.

Ren kept him floating and dreaming mid-air next to him, as he dug through Hux's cabinets looking for something decent to eat. He settled on eggs and bantha bacon, which he cooked up carefully, making enough for two plates.

He set the dishes down at the table, and set to work brewing a pot of the strong, fragrant tea that Hux liked so much. Once everything was done, he placed Hux in the chair next to his, and snapped his fingers several times in front of his face, waking him up.

Hux looked around himself in confusion.

"What in the hells--? How did I get here?", he asked, blinking the sleepy fog from his eyes.

"Apparently you sleepwalk now, too, Hux," Ren said, a grin on his face.

Hux rubbed the back of his neck and groaned. "No, I don't. I suppose I sleepwalked around this entire kitchen and made all this food, too?", he asked sarcastically, as his eyes came into contact with the eggs and bacon.

"What can I say; you're a talented man. Now eat."

"Is it poisoned?"

"No, it's not. It's actually decent. And I want you to eat it all."

Hux looked down at his plate and frowned. "But . . . but there's so much. You know I'm not really a breakfast per--"

"You either eat everything, or we sit here all day until you do. I'm pretty sure I could hold you here, if I wanted. Im just a tad stronger than you, after all."

Hux rolled his eyes. He was about to argue further, but something in the way Ren was looking at him changed his mind.

It was concern.

Concern for HIM, for Hux.

He was so unused to seeing that expression on others' faces in regards to himself that he wasn't quite sure how to process it.

It made him feel odd.

Odd, yet strangely good.

So he picked up his fork and ate everything on his plate, while Ren quietly did the same beside him.

When they were through, they both stood up and Ren took their two plates to the sink. He washed them one-handed, carefully, while Hux stood and watched.

Then their hands separated as they took turns using the refresher, and getting ready for the day ahead.

~~~

Snoke called them both into his chambers, and said he had a little day trip he wanted them to go on.

The moon that orbited their planet had an abundance of rare kyber crystals in a cave located on its southern side. Snoke wanted them  
to go with a small team to mind the crystals, and being them back to him at the base.

"It'll be a good opportunity for you both, to practice your teamwork outside of this base," Snoke said in his deep voice.

So they both left immediately, taking with them a team of about 20 stormtroopers, chosen for their strength, as the crystals took a great deal of energy to remove from their moorings in the cave.

Hux stalked around supervising and giving orders, and Ren begrudgingly followed along beside him. Ren was fascinated with the crystals, and spent a good deal of the time reprimanding the stormtroopers when he felt they were being too rough with them.

When they were done, they permitted the troopers a period of rest and eating, before they would take off for home. The moon was actually quite warm, and lovely, and neither commander was in a hurry to return to the dreariness of the base.

"We're ahead of schedule. Do you want to go explore a bit, before we go back?"

Ren looked at him doubtfully. "Are you sure? The terrain looks kind of rough, and rocky. I don't know if you'd be up to it."

Hux scowled at him. "I'm not an infant, Ren. And it's really not up to YOU to decide whether I can HANDLE something or not, is it?"

Ren shrugged his shoulders. "Take it easy, Armitage."

"Don't call me that," Hux said through gritted teeth.

"Why not? It's your name, isn't it?"

"But it's not what I call myself. I don't call YOU Ben, do I?"

Ren's left hand balled into a fist, and he threw a punch at Hux's jaw. Hux saw it coming and ducked it just in time, causing Ren's fist to slam into the tree behind him.

Ren shouted in pain and began to frantically shake out his hand, while Hux almost collapsed in laughter.

"See? Doesn't feel so good, does it?"

Ren grumbled and gave his hand a final shake. "Whatever. Are we going, or not?"

"Ready when you are, sweetheart."

~~~

They wandered quite far from the ship, into the wild terrain of the moon. They walked over many hilly cliffs, plowed through a few short fields. The further they got away from the ship, the more beautiful the scenery seemed to become.

Eventually Hux looked at his watch, and frowned.

"I didn't realize that we were gone so long," Hux muttered, shaking his head. "Everyone's going to be wondering where we went. We better get back."

Ren nodded, and they turned back in the direction they came from.

It was rapidly getting dark, and they quickened their pace as they stumbled over the ground.

As they went on, Hux looked over at Ren with a smile.

"We're not THAT far away, you know. You can control your stomach growling, can't you?"

"My stomach isn't growling."

Hux rolled his eyes. "Okay. I suppose I'm just imagining that noise, am I ?"

Ren stopped dead in his tracks, causing Hux to run into him, as he had been a pace behind.

"Ren, what--"

"Shhhhh!", Ren said, cocking his ear into the direction of the thicket of trees to their right.

This time, they both heard it.

A pair of eyes were glowing a sickly yellow-red from the trees, and, as they stood frozen, a creature walked slowly out of the darkness.

Neither had seen anything like it before. It was huge, obscenely long, with pointed scales adorning its back, and razor sharp teeth grinding in its mouth.

The beast looked at them and hissed, taking several steps back and pacing around. It's stance told them that it was getting ready to pounce of them. To attack.

To eat them.

"You don't have your blaster on you?"

Ren asked the question, and his voice didn't sound like his own at all. It was utterly calm, even pleasant, as if they were merely discussing the weather.

"No! I didn't think I'd need it out in the middle of no where!"

Ren continued to speak in that calm voice of his. "Then we'll have to use my light saber. Here," he said, lowering both of their hands into Ren's pocket and pulling it out. He handed it into Hux's free hand.

"You'll have to do it; I'm not left-handed."

"Ren! I can't --"

"It's okay, I have faith in you," Ren said in his serene voice. "There's a little switch to the right of the hilt. Don't jab it, squeeze it, lightly, and it'll come on."

Hux did as he was told, and a growling sword of angry red light immediately flooded out.

"Okay, on three, we charge. Keep the blade held out in front of you, and strike. Don't be afraid, and keep both eyes open."

Hux took a deep breath and nodded. Holding the saber, he counted down with Ren, "One, two . . . THREE!"

Both men charged at once into the howling, snarling beast. Hux kept his eyes open and watched as the top of the blade connected with the beasts shoulder. It roared with anger, and lunged open-mouthed at his side.

Both men jerked back, and Hux struck out again, this time bringing the blade through one of the creatures paws. He was amazed at how easily it went through, and looked in wonder at the now-severed hand of the beast laying dead on the ground.

Another roar, but weaker this time. The two advanced on it, and this time Hux was able to lob a blow directly at the creatures chest. The blade went straight through to the other side, and Hux could feel the monster convulse around the saber before dropping over onto its side.

Slightly panting, Hux quietly switched off the blade and handed it back into their joined hands, and finally back into Ren's pocket.

"You did well, General. Really well. Maybe we should talk to Snoke about building you a lightsaber of your own?", Ren said, teasing him.

"How did you do that?" Hux demanded, looking at him. "We could have died! How did you stay so calm?"

"All part of the training, General," he answered, with a grin on his face. "Now come on; I've had enough of the wildlife in this place. Let's get back to the ship, huh?"

Ren nodded, and the two made their way back to the clearing, Hux warily looking over his shoulder every few seconds---and Ren whistling.


	4. Chapter 4

DAY THREE  
>>>>•>>>>

The little room was cold, and dark. The only light that filtered through came in one tiny window, set high on the wall, and it didn't provide much relief to the dimness at all.

Ren was in the middle of questioning a prisoner, a supposed rebel spy that had been circulating information about The First Order's new base back to the Resistance.

Ren had begged the Supreme Leader to release his hand from Hux's, while he was performing this task; but Snoke wouldn't relent.

"Learn to work with the General," was all he would say, that leering smile on his face.

Ren had left Snoke's chambers angrily after that, dragging Hux along with him, and scaring the latter when he ripped his lightsaber from his pocket and begun clumsily (left-handedly) slashing away at several navigational computers. Hux stood quietly during Ren's rampage, leaning as far away from the blade of his light saber as possible and hoping Ren wouldn't think to start slashing into HIM next.

Afterwards Hux sent a datapad message to one of his aides, telling him to start filling out damage reports for the destroyed equipment.

They stood together, now, in the interrogation room, as Ren pelted the man with questions, and threats.

When the man wouldn't cooperate, Ren (with Hux) came very close to him, and stretched out his gloved hand towards the man's forehead. Slowly the man's head rose off of the chair and towards Ren, his face scrunched, his mouth open and emitting scream after painful scream. It made Hux feel a little sick, to see and hear how much pain the prisoner was in; yet he couldn't look away.

"I've gotten what I need from you," Ren told him in an impressively indifferent voice. "Now tell me why I should keep you alive."

"Please, Lord Ren; have mercy on me. I have a wife; we have a young child. I love them; surely you must know what it is, to be in love?"

Ren stared at him, his face remaining blank and impassive.

"What would make you presume such a thing? That I would know an emotion as weak, as damning, as love?"

The prisoner looked at him incredulously. 

"You're--you're holding his hand," he said, nodding towards the General. "You haven't let go of his hand since you came in this room."

"That is a situation for which there is another explanation, one that you, unfortunately, will not be made privy to. I assure you, love has nothing to do with it."

"If love doesn't appeal to you, what about your mother?", the man asked quietly. "She's a part of this organization you're trying so hard to annihilate. What would she say, if she saw the way you were acting now? If she saw how much of a monster her only son has become?"

The expression on Ren's face turned quickly, from nothing, to anger. 

Ren turned away, and Hux was forced to turn with him. He was surprised at the fleet of emotions running rampant across the knight's face. It appeared a though he was struggling with himself, and with his conscience.

When he (they) turned back around, Ren's face had regained its expressionless palor.

He held out his free hand towards the prisoner, and slowly clenched his fingers together, making a fist. The man screamed, and suddenly fell silent, his eyes still open, his head lolling forward on his neck.

"Did you choke him?", Hux asked him quietly.

"No. I stopped his heart." Now he looked at Hux with that same coldness still on his face. "Apparently he was over-using it, anyway."

Hux nodded, and pulled his datapad from his pocket with his good hand. He began to type out a message to Snoke regarding what information Ren had garnered from the prisoner, as well as the man's subsequent death.

These interrogations were a lot harder than Hux had imagined them to be.

It was one thing to sit behind a desk and command an army to do your killings for you; and another to see individual deaths up close. There was a very personalized air to Ren's job that Hux found unnerving, and for the first time, Hux saw how deeply it affected Ren himself.

"Are you okay?", he found himself asking Ren, before he could help himself.

"Are YOU?", Ren shot back at him. "You look a little sick."

"I'm fine. Let's get out of here, okay? Let's go back home."

Ren looked at him in confusion.

"I thought you said we were going to your office after this? I thought you said you had paperwork to fill out?"

"It can wait," Hux said, impatiently pulling his arm so that Ren was forced to follow, and walking briskly down the halls. "I'm, uh, I'm hungry. You're going to make me dinner."

Ren shot up an eyebrow as they walked along. "Why should I do anything for you?"

"Because you're hungry, too, and you're a better cook than me?"

"I suppose that's fair. Okay, deal."

Hux felt a little bit of relief, now that they were away from the dark room and the dead, staring face.

A little.

But not much.

~~~

A few hours later found them quietly eating in Hux's quarters, each man thinking over the events of the day.

Hux was halfway through internally planning out tomorrow's meeting, when Ren's voice from the silence made him jump slightly.

"Do you ever think about your mother?"

The question took Hux by surprise, and it was a few moments before he could respond.

"No. Not really."

"Why not?"

Hux sighed. "Because I never knew her, not really. She died when I was 4 years old."

"I'm sorry," Ren said uncomfortably, looking down at his plate. "I didn't know that."

Hux shrugged. "It's not a big deal; people die every day, right?"

Ren nodded, still not looking up. He absently pushed food around his plate, then glanced up at Hux, another question burning behind his lips.

"What about your father?"

Hux reached into his pocket and pulled out a smoke-stick. He lit it with a hand that was just slightly trembling, and took a deep drag, expelling the smoke out towards the ceiling.

"I think of him from time to time," Hux said calmly, taking another drag. "I'm not sure he thinks about me, though. Not that I'd want him to."

Ren looked at him curiously. "Why do you say that?"

Hux stubbed out his stick on the edge of the table, and took a long drink of tea.

"He was always so . . . critical. Of everything. Nothing I ever did or accomplished was 'good' enough."

Now he looked at Ren, with a little smile on his face. "He was a perfectionist, you know. I suppose that's where I get it from. He was a General, himself, during your grandfather's time."

Ren nodded thoughtfully, then stood up, bringing Hux with him  
as he collected their two plates and brought them over to the sink.

"So you must have been fed that whole 'glory of the Empire' rhetoric your entire life, huh?"

Hux nodded, watching Ren do the dishes. "That's probably why I ended up here, right after Academy. This was the closest thing I could think of, that matched the Galactic Empire. Something I thought dad would be proud of me, for joining."

"Was he?"

Hux shook his head, bitterness coloring his tone as he said,

"Of course not. To quote, 'The First Order will never be as successful as the Empire was, Armitage."

He paused, letting out a little chuckle.

"And do you know what he said when I told him I'd been made General?"

Ren shook his head.

"He said, 'You? You're as thin as a sheet of paper, and just as worthless. Leader Snoke must truly be desperate, if he's choosing someone like YOU to man the helm of his operation.'"

They moved back into the living room, and sat down on the couch. Hux could sense that Ren wanted to ask him more questions, but he didn't want to answer any more. So before he could ask, Hux put a question to him.

"What about you, Ren? Do you ever think about your parents?"

Ren closed his eyes and sighed, leaning back into the couch. He was quiet for so long that Hux thought about repeating the question, until, finally, Ren began speaking in a low voice.

"I do. I do. They were 'rebel scum', you know," he said with a small smile. "And mom still is. The LEAD scum, in fact; I believe she's a General, like you. Wouldn't surprise me any; she always was smart, and resourceful."

Hux nodded, and bit his lip. There was something else he wanted to know, but was afraid it would anger Ren.

Ren turned towards him and nodded slightly.

"I can hear what you're thinking. Go ahead; ask."

"Okay. Why'd you kill your father, Ren?

Ren turned his head and looked towards the window. Night was beginning to fall, turning the bright colors of the day into silvery-purple hues. Very faintly they could hear the sound of a squad leader, calling his troops in from the training grounds.

When Ren spoke, he spoke so quietly that Hux had to lean forward, a bit, to hear him.

"There are a lot of reasons, but really only one. Or, only one that matters. Snoke told me to."

He paused and rubbed the side of his neck.

"My father--he represented that other life for me. He represented my home, my mother. Training to be a Jedi. Ben Solo in general, I guess. Snoke said that only by getting rid of him, would I get rid of my pull to the light, my hidden desires to return to that life. So I did it. I killed him. When the opportunity presented itself to me at Starkiller, I had to make a choice. So I did."

Hux was quiet for a while, thinking of what Ren had said. A thought came to him, and he tried to press it down, before Ren could hear it. 

Too late.

"I don't know, Hux," Ren answered his unspoken question swiftly. "If it ever came down to that, if Snoke ever told me that I had to kill Leia, too--I think I would kill myself first. She doesn't deserve that. Not after all I already put her through."

He had started to shake all over, and Hux timidly reached over with his good hand, rubbing his shoulder.

When the shaking didn't seem to be getting any better, Hux had another idea. He pulled a smoke-stick out of his pocket, lit it, and held it out to Ren.

"Take this; it'll calm your nerves."

Ren looked at it curiously, and took it cautiously between his thumb and index finger. Slowly, he inhaled--and immediately burst into a loud fit of coughing.

Hux started to laugh, as he took the stick out of Ren's hand and pounded him lightly on the back. After the coughing passed, Ren began to laugh, too, so hard that tears rolled down his eyes.

"Maker, Hux, that tastes AWFUL. How do you stand that thing?"

Hux smiled and took a deep pull from the stick, blowing the cloud back over his shoulder.

"What can I say? I'm attracted to awful things. Look who I ended up working for. And WITH."

Now both of them laughed again, and this time it felt a little better.

Hux sat up. "I'm going to take a shower. When I come out, do you want to watch a holofilm or something."

"That'd be nice, sure."

"Okay; you pick one and I'll be out in 15 min or so."

Ren nodded, and their hands separated as Hux went into his refresher and shut the door.

As Ren rummaged through Hux's available Holo's, he was aware of an unpleasant sensation in the hand that had been holding Hux's.

It felt . . . empty.

And cold.


	5. Chapter 5

DAY FOUR  
>>>>•>>>>

Hux woke up before Ren, and watched as the man mumbled in his sleep.

He still couldn't figure out what it was that Ren was saying, or to whom, in these dreamlike conversations. The words came out backwards, and disjointed. Sometimes he seemed to be talking to his mother; other times he appeared to be arguing with Snoke.

Once he had even begun waving his good arm around, holding it out as though gripping a lightsaber, and snarling as it made contact with an imaginary foe.

"Die, Skywalker!", he had shouted out quite clearly, and Hux had to bite the inside of his cheeks to keep from laughing out loud.

As he watched him now, he studied his face and tried to make sense of the jumbled words, but couldn't.

He was about to give up, turn his head and try and catch a few more minutes of sleep, when Ren smiled quite widely and sighed.

"Hux," he breathed out, clear as a bell amidst the intaglio of other words.

Hux felt as if his heart had stopped, then picked up again at a leaping pace, slamming frantic, crazed beats into his ears.

Hux?

Was he -- was Ren dreaming about him?

Thinking that made Hux feel funny, although he wasn't sure why. He needed a distraction, so he used his good hand to grab his datapad off of the nightstand, and he flipped it on, to read his itinerary for the day.

There was nothing.

Aside from a reminder to send Snoke copies of the last budget report, he didn't have a single thing scheduled for the day. No meetings, no combat drills, no paperwork, nothing.

He double and triple checked to make sure, and began smiling to himself. It had been a long time he had had an actual day off, and the thought was both staggering, and pleasant.

Then he looked at Ren and frowned.

Ren.

Even if Hux didn't have anything to do, he would still be forced to tag along with Ren, and whatever Snoke had him doing.

Out of curiosity, he flipped through the names of everyone that held a command, until he came to Ren's. As General, Hux was the only one (besides Ren himself) who had access to the daily schedules of EVERYBODY on base, to approve or alter as he saw fit. 

Nothing.

He blinked in disbelief, and checked again. 

Ren didn't have a single thing on his schedule, either.

Well, this is interesting, Hux thought to himself. 

I wonder what we should do today?

In any case, he didn't want them  
to hang around in Hux's quarters all day. 

I wonder--he thought, as he picked up his datapad again.

On the planet of Mon Cala, which was in fact an ally planet to The First Order, there was very large building which boasted an impressive aquarium. The owners of this place continually sent invitations for the Supreme Leader to visit, which of course he always declined, feeling that such a thing would be out of place with his personality. Nevertheless, the invitations kept coming, out of politeness--

\--why couldn't the same invitation extend to Snoke's two right hands, General Hux and Lord Kylo Ren?

He typed out a message to Snoke, asking permission to go on a jaunt to Mon Cala, and anxiously awaited a reply.

Snoke answered back almost immediately, granting his permission, and even offering to contact the proprietors himself to ensure that Hux and Ren would be greeted (and treated) the same as Snoke would be.

He reached out to smack Ren, to wake him up--and found that his hand was hesitating, hovering just over his face. Before he could stop himself, he found himself gently smoothing back the hair that hung loosely in Ren's face.

His touch was feather-light, but Ren felt it, and opened his eyes. Hux quickly drew his hand away, but not before Ren had seen it.

"What'r you doing?", he growled at him.

"There was a, um, a bug, on your face. I was just getting it off," Hux said, his face blushing red at the absurdity of the lie.

"A bug?" Ren shouted, now wide awake. "It--it wasn't a SPIDER, was it?!", he shrieked, as he began to swat at his face.

Hux laughed, quite hard, at Ren's panic.

"So you have all these incredible Force powers--but you're afraid of spiders?"

"I never said the word 'afraid', you idiot. I just, I don't like them. They're disgusting."

Hux rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Ren. Come on, get up."

Ren yawned and drew his pillow over his face. "It's early," he whined, his voice muffled. "Surely we don't have to be on the bridge THIS early, do we?"

"We don't have to be on the bridge at all, actually. At least, not today."

Ren moved the pillow down, uncovering his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Hux explained to him about their unexpected joint day off. Then he paused, and told him about his idea of spending the day on Mon Cala, at the aquarium, and how he had already spoke to Snoke about it.

He was worried that Ren might find this to be a silly, juvenile idea . . . but that wasn't the case at all. He was vibrantly enthused, almost scarily so.

"Let's get ready!", he said excitedly, forcing Hux out of bed and to the refresher door. "I haven't been to an aquarium since I was, wow, maybe 6 years old!"

Their hands separated as Ren rushed into the refresher, to get ready.

Hux chuckled at Ren's childlike enthusiasm; then he went back into his bedroom to get ready as well.

~~~

Meeting with the proprietor of the aquarium was an interesting experience for Ren and Hux.

The man, short, and with a pronounced limp, practically fell all over himself to ensure that Ren and Hux felt that they were receiving the best reception possible, a pomp and circumstance that seemed quite out of place at something as trivial as a venue such as this one.

He had glanced, just once, at their joined hands, and had seemed almost about to say something, when Ren's fierce stare stopped his tongue.

The halls had been cleared of all other potential visitors, so Ren and Hux had free run of the entire building. And they took advantage of it, spending leisurely hours moving slowly in-between exhibits, listening attentively as the guides stationed at each one gave the men a brief history of the aquatic animal in question.

They looked at colo claw fish, their frightening mandibles opening and closing as they chased smaller fish around the tank. They looked at sando aqua monster-fish, flexing their gigantic, almost human-like muscles as they wrestled one another along the brightly lit tank floor. They stared in awe at the tiny, multi-colored Burra fish as they leapt and swam in little groups behind the glass. 

The aquarium even had fish from other galaxies, and Hux was especially interested in the selection from the planet Terra. In particular, he couldn't get his fill of watching the dolphins, as they leapt gracefully into the open air above the water, calling out to each other with cries that sounded very similar to human laughter.

At the end of it all, they were offered a complimentary meal, which Hux (accurately) suspected that the staff had catered in from an actual fine dining establishment. The food was just a little too fancy, a little too GOOD, to be the standard snack-type fare that would normally be offered at a place like this.

But far be it from him to question good fortune.

He and Ren ate heartily, Hux surprised at the awakening of his normally dead appetite, and Ren just devouring everything in front of him, swiftly, without discrimination.

When a member of the staff came out and offered desert, Hux shook his head no--but the look on Ren's face was so comically hurt that he quickly rescinded and said Yes.

They brought out a large cake, covered with heavy cream and berries, and Hux had to hold his breath and temporarily turn his head away, he was so full.

Not that this stopped Ren.

"You don't feel sick right now?" Hux couldn't help but ask him.

"Nope," Ren said, cramming another bite into his already full mouth. He swallowed and said "I get this from my dad, I guess. He was always a big eater, too. Poor mom used to run herself ragged just going back and forth to the market each week."

"I'll bet," Hux said, watching him. "Your mother, she was probably a good cook, right?"

"The best."

"You're lucky, then. My father and I, neither of us were handy at cooking. He always hired chefs to cook for us, but they always made such bland, unappetizing food that I never wanted to eat at all."

Probably why you're so skinny now, Ren thought to himself. To Hux, he said,

"Of course, I only ate well when I was home from Jedi academy. At the temple, everything was fruits, and moss."

"Moss?!"

"Yes, moss. My uncle was convinced that moss held the most nutritional value out of all the food groups. Said he learned it from Master Yoda, when he trained with him on Dagobath."

"I wasn't aware that humans were able to eat moss."

"I don't think they are. Or, supposed to. I always had such awful stomach aches during the week. Skywalker said that was because I wasn't 'allowing' my body to absorb the nutrients. That idiot."

"I'm glad my father never heard of that. If he had, that would have been our diet, as well."

"You know," Ren said, leaning back in his chair, "Sometimes, from what you've told me, your dad sounds like a really big jerk. Do you ever think you might be better off if you just killed him?"

Hux started to laugh. "Killed him? You make it sound so easy."

"It IS; once you commit yourself to it."

"I think I'll pass, Ren. Thanks for the advice, though."

"Fine. But if you ever change your mind; you'd be more than welcome to 'borrow' my lightsaber."

"You know, in all honesty, I WOULD like to hurt him. Hurt, not kill. Unfortunately I've never been very adept at fighting."

"Me either. That's what the lightsaber is for."

"'Me either'? Really? Last time I checked, you threw a pretty hard punch, when you want to."

"Well, that's different. You're an easy target," he explained, and they both started to laugh.

~~~

They took their leave warmly from the proprietor, each shaking his hand and expressing their delight with his business. 

When they walked back to the ship, it was dark, the moon just barely rising, a low pink ball in the east.

"Maker, Hux--look!", Ren exclaimed in a hushed tone, tilting his head up. Hux followed his gaze and did the same, his mouth opening in awe.

Unlike back home, where they were lucky to see a couple of stars adorn the sky, here it seemed like billions of stars were twinkling down on them, shining against the surface of the dark, flowing water. The sky was a breathing, moving painting of bright celestial bodies, streaked with pinks, blues, golds and silvers spanning widely across the nighttime.

A light pressure on Hux's hand, the one that was joined to Ren's, startled him, and Hux glanced down.

Ren was holding his hand quite tightly, squeezing it as his head gazed up into the heavens.

After a moment, Hux squeezed back; and they stood there for an indeterminable amount of time, squeezing, and gazing. 

Then Ren loosened his fingers, and the two went back to the limp hand-bind that was normal for them.

Neither spoke for a few seconds, and then Hux said, softly,

"Come on; let's go home."


	6. Chapter 6

DAY FIVE  
>>>>•>>>>

Hux sat in his office, his face a mixture of discipline and annoyance, as he spoke to the two Captains sitting before him.

He had callled them both in there, after fielding multiple complaints from each one separately in regards to the other. One accused the other of encroaching on her regiments spot on the training grounds, the other said he purposely conveyed to her the incorrect times for department meetings so that she would always be late, and on and on, back and forth until Hux had decided he'd had enough and demanded they both come to see him.

He realized the absurdity of the situation, having to give the two Captains a lecture in professionalism and teamwork while he himself was still being punished for his own failure to observe those two standards.

And that punishment sat next to him now, impatiently tapping his foot against the floor, and biting his lip against what HE wanted do to 'motivate' the Captains to get along.

Before they had come in, Ren had begged Hux to let him force-choke the two squabbling Captains until they were 'more agreeable', which Hux steadfastly refused him the pleasure of doing.

Hux finished up his talk with the two now, having felt that they had made decent progress towards resolving their issues, when Ren spoke up, suddenly, and loudly.

"And if that doesn't work, try this," Ren put in, holding up his and Hux's joined hands.

"Ren, what are you--"

"He doesn't like to admit it, but holding my hand is the best stress reliever he's ever found. That's why he can't let me go. Well, holding that and OTHER things," Ren continued, with a sly wink.

Both of the Captains blushed, looking down quickly at the floor, not sure how to take Lord Ren's comments.

He looked over at Hux, expecting that he would be amused along with him.

But he wasn't.

His jaw was clenched, his eyes narrowed into two angry slits. Two spots of color sat high up on his cheeks, giving his pale skin a flushed look.

"Captain Vitum, Captain Lorch, you may both leave. Report back to me in three days, so that I can see that you've successfully resolved the matter at hand. Dismissed."

They both stood and left, leaving Ren and Hux alone once more.

When they had left, Hux glared at Ren. "Alright, Ren, enlighten me; WHY would you DO something like that? Why would you SAY those things?!"

"It was a joke, Ren said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "And they're only Captains, who cares what they think?"

Hux had to close his eyes against the onslaught of anger he could feel rising up through his chest. His eyes still closed, he spoke through gritted teeth:

"I don't care what they think; I care what they SAY, you moof-milker! You KNOW they're going to go out there and tell everybody what you said! Do you have any idea how quickly something like this will spread around the base?!"

Ren was quiet, then he said, defiantly, "So what if it does?"

"What?

"So what if it DOES? Why would that be such a bad thing, if people thought we were together? Is it because you think someone like me isn't good enough for you, and you'd be ashamed of the association?"

Hux shook his head vigorously. "Are you kidding me? If anything, it's the complete opposite of that; people would be looking at YOU and wondering whether you'd taken leave of your senses. But that's not it, either, Ren."

"Then what is it?"

Hux sighed, and turned fully towards him.

"Do you remember Lieutenant Jysella?"

Ren nodded.

"Then you remember how we were seeing each other, for nearly a year?"

Ren nodded again.

"Did you also know that she was a rebel spy, using me and my connection to Snoke to gain intel for the Resistance?"

Ren's mouth dropped open in shock. He HADN'T known that, at all.

"It took me longer than I'd like to admit, to catch on. But I eventually did. I was in denial for a long time, before I could shake out of my depression over the situation to do anything about it."

"So what happened?"

"I told Snoke, and he was, of course, furious. We devised a plan to have her sent away to take command of one of our trading posts; but that was a ruse. In reality, he had her executed, as quickly and quietly as possible."

"I never--Snoke never told me that. I never would have suspected something like that, Hux. But what does that have to do with what we were talking about before?"

"Because somehow, someway, others found out about it. They found out that I had been so careless as to entrust myself to a spy, and that I had very nearly caused the downfall of the whole base, for something as paltry as 'love'. My officers, my Lieutenants, everybody judged me because of that, and I lost a bit of their respect."

Now he looked at Ren directly.

"If they thought I was in another relationship, even with YOU, do you know what the first words out of anyone's mouths would be? 'What an idiot; didn't learn his lesson after the first time'."

"Why didn't Snoke tell ME any of this?" Ren muttered to himself.

"Because he said he didn't want you to lose respect, too. He said that even though you fought with me all the time, you DID respect me, and he didn't want that to change."

Ren sat quietly, taking in the impact of the General's words. He felt bad about what he had done, earlier, having not been aware of how important it was to Hux to maintain a pristine image, in that regard.

"Call the two Captains back in here."

"Why?"

"Just call them."

Hux sighed and pressed the Comm button, paging the two Captains back into his office. They arrived about ten minutes later, looking wary, expecting perhaps another lecture.

Instead, Ren waved his hand in front of them both and rendered them unconscious, keeping them both floating in mid-air. He leaned close to each one, and pulled away with a smile.

"They haven't spoken to anyone about earlier, yet."

He raised his hand again and concentrated, completely extracting their memories of the past hour.

"There," he said, satisfied. Now they won't remember a thing. You'll have to give them your speech again, though; they won't remember that, either."

Hux smiled, and put his hand on Ren's shoulder. "Thank you," he said softly. As Ren levitated the two into chairs and prepared to wake them up, Hux said, playfully,

"And for Maker's sake, THIS time, just sit there quietly and keep your mouth shut!"


	7. Chapter 7

DAY SIX  
>>>>•>>>>

Physically strong, but mentally weak. No families, or very strained relationships with them. Easily persuadable. 

A desire to belong.

These were the types of people that received top priority in the recruitment process. They were shipped in from all over the galaxy, countless men and women, and submitted to a variety of tests, both physical and mental, to see if they had what it took, to be a part of The First Order.

Today was one of the monthly recruitment days, and Ren and Hux were kept busy since the early hours of the morning overseeing the selection process of the hundreds of men and women that stepped through the gates.

Snoke and Ren were kept even busier afterwards, as they took large groups of these people at a time, those who hadn't passed the selection process, and wiped out their memories of the previous 24 hours, before sending them back on their way. This was especially important, to weed out potential rebel spies who were posing as First Order pledges in order to get into the base.

Today was the one day that Snoke allowed Ren and Hux's hands to be separated for a few hours, as he needed Ren hidden in the shadows by the gates, to catch spies before they made it in. Having to filter through so many minds at a time gave Ren an immense headache, and when he joined up hands with Hux again, the latter had to give him a number of pills to soothe him.

The entire process went fairly smoothly, from initial questioning to the daunting obstacle course, and lasted about 12 hours.

Ren and Hux had been up since 0400, supervising the Officers as they divided groups of potential recruits among themselves and put them through the necessary channels.

Normally this wouldn't be the sort of event that Ren put much participation into; the only thing necessary for him to do came at the end, where he would help Snoke with mind-clearings. However since he was joined with Hux, he was privy to the entire process, which he found to be fascinating.

As he stood out on the field with Hux as the latter watched a group of potentials undergo fitness evaluation, he occupied himself with reading through the set of questions that the new men and women were asked.

Some were pretty standard:

Name, Age, Weight, Height, Do you have any medical disabilities, previous employment history, etc.

But some were just plain bizarre.

23\. Your fellow comrades have been trapped underneath a ship. The enemy approaches. You carry on you important documents to be delivered immediately to your superior officer. It is in your power to free your comrades, but at severe risk of being captured yourself. How do you proceed?"

46\. The Supreme Leader has invited your entire squadron to a congratulatory lunch, to commend your success in an important battle. Two of the members on your squad did not accompany your team on the mission, due to illness. They are invited as well. Is this correct?"

"Hux," Ren said, looking up, "What are these questions supposed to gauge, exactly?"

"Independent thought. Individuality. A sense of moral responsibility. Things like that."

"So I'm guessing you want people who have none of these qualities, right?

Hux glanced over at him. "You could say that. Basically we want people easily influenceable, easily programmed, I suppose. Easier to train, easy to control."

Ren looked back down at the questions with a frown.

"Why are there so many questions about family?"

"People with families, or rather strong ties to their families, are unsuitable. Their loyalties will always lie with them, not with us. That opens the doors for defection, and all kinds of problems."

"But we have several families here on base, don't we? Mothers, fathers, and their children?

"That's different. Those are people who met here, and got married here. They're raising their entire family within this organization from the get-go. Outsiders don't have that same benefit."

Ren nodded thoughtfully as he continued reading over the question list.

If Snoke had had ME fill out one of these things, he probably never would have taken me at all, Ren thought ruefully to himself. 

At the end of the day, 35 candidates were chosen to join The First Order. 35, out of the 1000+ that had applied.

Snoke allowed Ren and Hux to separate again, as Snoke needed Ren to help him with mind-clearings of all this rejected.

Hux met in the conference room with the lucky (or severely unlucky, from another point of view) new recruits, and gave them a brief speech about the glory of The First Order, the training they would receive, and so on. Then he sent them on their way to be outfitted, meet the Officers, and be assigned to different regiments.

When they had all left the room, Hux put his head down on the table and sighed. These days always made him feel exhausted, and somewhat depressed, although that last part was something he couldn't quite put his finger on the reasoning of.

Maybe it was the enormous stack of paperwork he knew he had to fill out, for each individual recruit. The pile sat on the table in front of him, but he felt he couldn't even lift his head to look at it.

He kept his head down, dozing lightly, until he heard someone come in the room, and a hand slide into his.

He looked up.

Kylo seemed to be in even worse shake than him, almost completely mentally drained from his task with Snoke.

Wordlessly, Hux reached into his coat pocket and brought out the bottle of pain pills, handing it to Ren. He took it, just as silently, and swallowed down 4 pills, dry.

Then he took a sheet of paper down from the indomitable stack, and began to carefully fill it out, writing surprisingly neatly for having to use his left hand.

Hux watched him, then took a sheet down himself.

They continued to work on like that for the next hour and a half.

~~~

Both men trudged warily back to Hux's quarters, their minds on different things.

Hux was thinking about a hot shower, to ease the tension in his back.

Ren was thinking about food, to quiet the rumbling in his stomach.

As they headed down the hall, a soft noise from the shadows caught their attention. Standing in the doorway of one of the dark offices was a child. A little girl, maybe about 6 or 7 years old. She was standing in a pink nightgown, her brown hair hanging down her back in curls. She was crying.

They looked at each other, and Ren walked back towards her and knelt on the floor, forcing Hux to bend slightly.

"It's okay, little girl. It's okay. What's your name?"

"Lydia," the child answered after a moment, snuffling.

"Lydia. That's pretty. Why are you crying, Lydia?"

"I can't -- I can't find my mommy!", she said, bursting into tears again.

Ren pulled the child into his arms, patting her gently on the back. It's okay, we'll find your mommy."

He lifted her up with his good arm, holding her.

"Do you know your mommy's name?"

"Amadeen," Lydia said, somewhat proudly. "Amadeen Jorlinn."

"We'll go back to my office to page her," said Hux, as the group made their way back down the hall.

"What's your name?" the girl asked Ren, as her little arms clung to his neck.

"My name is Kylo."

"What's his name?", she asked, pointing at the General.

"His name is Armitage," Ren said, grinning at the sour look that Hux shot him behind the girls back.

"It's not Armitage. Its Hux. Just Hux."

They got back to the office, and Hux sent out a page for Lieutenant Jorlinn to come see him at once.

In the meantime, Ren entertained the little girl, levitating the small objects in the room for her, and eventually the girl herself, making her shriek out and clap her hands in scared delight.

"Lydia Anne Jorlinn! THERE you are!", cried a voice from the door. All three turned around, and Ren lowered the girl back to the ground as her mother came in, looking distraught.

"Lord Ren, General Hux, I am so, so sorry. I thought she was in bed; I went in to check on her and she was gone!"

She turned scolding eyes on her daughter. "How many times do I have to tell you not to wander off like that? Do you have any idea how badly you scared me?!"

The girl seemed undaunted as she went into her mother's arms.

"Mommy, I made new friends! This is Kylo, and this is Hux, just Hux", she exclaimed, pointing to each one in turn.

"No, honey. Lord Ren, and General Hux."

"No, no, it's okay; she's right, we're friends," Ren said with a grin.

Lt. Jorlinn smiled back.

"We should be going, its way past her bedtime," she said, cradling her daughter who was already half asleep in her arms. "Thank you so much for finding her, and keeping her safe. Good evening."

They both bid her goodnight, and watched as she walked out of the room with the little girl. When she got to the door, Lydia opened her eyes just slightly, and waved at the both of them, before snuggling back into her mother's arms.

Quiet, and then:

"I wasn't aware that you were good with kids."

"I'm not. But I relate to them. After all, aren't you always telling me that I'm like an overgrown child?", he asked with a smirk.

"That's true."

Hux yawned. "Come on, let's get out of here before any more kids find us. I think we've had enough excitement for one day."

"Agreed, General."


	8. Chapter 8

DAY SEVEN  
>>>>•>>>>

Ren woke up that morning feeling as excited as he used to feel as a kid on Life Day.

He reached over and smacked Hux several times on the nose, until Hux woke up, cursing.

"What in the hells are you doing?! Leave me alone!", he grumbled, pulling his pillow over his face.

Ren ripped it off, this time twisting his body and pushing his foot into Hux's cheek.

Hux batted it away with a scowl, reaching out and smacking Rens forehead.

"What is WRONG with you?!", he demanded, squinting at the clock on the dresser. It's 0500! We don't have to be up for three kriffing hours yet!"

"Do you know what today is?"

"Another day of torment?" Hux mumbled, turning his face in the opposite direction.

"Exactly. But it's not just A day of torment, it's THE day of torment. Or, rather, the last day. Today's Day 7!"

He turned back around and looked at Ren, excitement beginning to rear it's head. 

"Really? Today's the last day?"

"It is."

Hux sighed and drew his good arm across his eyes. "Thank the Maker," he said, smiling. 

Ren threw off the covers and leapt out of bed, nearly tearing Hux's arm off in the process.

"Be careful! I'm still going to need my arm after today, you know!"

"Sorry, but I'm hungry," Ren said, pulling Hux along to the conservator.

Hux realized, with mild shock, that he would miss this. He would miss Ren bumbling around his kitchen, and cooking for him.

"Hux? HUX?", Ren was saying, shaking his shoulder.

"Huh?", Hux replied, snapping out of his daze.

"I SAID, what do you want to eat?"

"Surprise me."

~~~

The day passed fairly quickly, with each man going about their usual tasks with a renewed sense of vigor, and enthusiasm.

Yet underneath it all, both of them felt the tiniest bit of melancholy, at the idea that their partnership would soon end.

When they got back to Hux's quarters at the end of the work day, that small sense of sadness was still lingering beneath the surface--and Hux decided to do something about it.

"So I thought maybe we'd have a little celebration," Hux said, dragging Ren with him into the kitchen. He reached up into a high cabinet and brought down a bottle of high quality liquor, setting it down carefully on the counter.

"I was saving this for a special occasion," Hux said with a grin, as he twisted the cap off. "Honestly I can't think of anything more 'special' than this."

"I don't know, Hux," Ren said doubtfully. "I don't really have a good tolerance for alcohol."

Hux rolled his eyes. "I'm sure a couple of drinks won't kill you."

And he was right, a couple of drinks DIDN'T kill him. 

But when a couple of drinks turned into a dozen or so, that's when the problems started.

It was fun, at first. Hux introduced a game where the person would take a shot, and then name a dance move for the other person to do. If the person couldn't do it, then he had to take two shots.

There was a lot of laughing as they tried to do each others' challenges, made harder considering the fact that their hands were joined.

It didn't help that Ren's tolerance was already low.

It also didn't help that Hux's 'shot' glasses were actually quite a bit bigger than the standard sized shots.

Eventually, inevitably, Ren was all but rolling with the drinks in him, and it showed, in his staggering steps, and his slow, halting speech.

As Hux was putting the cap back on the booze, deciding that they had both had more than enough, when Ren touched him, lightly, on the arm.

"Hux," he slurred, reaching out to touch his face, "You know I hate you, right?"

Before Hux could answer, Ren was staggering on,

"I hate you, but holy hells you are really, really attractive. And you're so soft," he cooed, now sloppily caressing Hux's face with his fingertips.

"Ren, I think you need to lie down."

"I think, I think, I think I need to, you."

"What?"

"I need to kiss you," he said slowly, leaning in very close to Hux's face.

"Ren, stop --", Hux began, voice trembling.

But it was too late.

Ren was already kissing him, his good arm wrapped around Hux's waist, holding him there, and squeezing their joined hands with a bone crushing intensity.

Hux tried to pull away, but he couldn't. Not only because of the death grip Ren had him in . . . but because, amazingly, he didn't WANT to move away.

Ren's lips were crushing him, the taste of liquor burning down into Hux's throat . . . but he couldn't make himself pull away.

Instead, he reached up and twined his good hand in Ren's luscious hair, pulling him even closer into his already-overheated body.

He couldn't control the moan that escaped him when Ren moved his lips from Hux's mouth to his neck, kissing along it tenderly and slowly. When he bit down on the soft spot beneath Hux's ear, the redhead nearly fainted, so strong was the sensation that shot through his thin frame.

Ren's good hand had moved to Hux's belt, and he was fumbling with the buckle. He had also moved back to kissing the General's lips, harder than before, deeper.

Hux's heart was pounding in his ears, his adrenaline racing with excitement. The logical part of him was furiously shouting at him, reminding him of how inappropriate this was, how dangerous.

But that other part, the part that seemed to be emanating purely from the front of his pants, shouted back just as furiously for the logical side to shut up.

Hux closed his eyes, completely giving himself in to Ren's aggressive hunger--and suddenly, everything ground to a halt. Ren's lips were no longer on his, his hand no longer venturing beyond Hux's zipper.

A heavy weight nearly brought Hux to his knees. He opened his eyes, and saw that Ren had completely passed out, hitting the floor in a kneeling slump.

Hux looked at him in disbelief, and, in spite of how disappointed (and relieved) he was, he began to chuckle.

He zipped himself back up, then hoisted Ren up and laid the two of them out on the bed. 

You're right; you're NOT very tolerant with liquor, Hux thought towards the now-snoring Ren.

So he closed his eyes and tried to salvage what was left of the night in sleep.

~~~

Ren sat up slowly, and groaned.

He looked across the bed at Hux, who was still asleep; then down at his own hands.

His own two hands.  
Two.

It came back to him, that last night had been night seven of their imprisonment. They had--celebrated, hadn't they?

It was all very foggy in his mind, but he seemed to remember having quite a few drinks with Hux. Drinks, and dancing? Yes, dancing.

But there was something else, something that creeped around the edges of his memory.

Suddenly, it came to him.

"We KISSED?!", he exclaimed to himself in shock. Hux didn't wake up; he merely snorted and turned over on his side.

The picture was coming in clearer and clearer, and Ren watched the scene unfold in his mind with a sense of disbelief.

He had been quite--aggressive, with Hux. He had even tried to undress him. But the oddest part of all was, in his mind's eye, Hux hadn't tried to fend him off, or divert his amorous advances.

Rather, he had been enjoying them.

And he had wanted more.

He concentrated harder, and saw himself with his hand sliding down Hux's zipper.

After that, everything was a blank.

I must have passed out, Ren thought to himself frantically. There's no way that we might have -- that maybe, we -- 

Hux began to stir beside him, and Ren scrambled quickly out of bed, ignoring his headache as he began to gather the clothes he had brought over at the beginning of the week.

Hux was sitting up now, and looking at him.

"Good morning."

"'Morning," Ren replied, not looking at him as he packed up his things. "So it looks like we're finally free.

Hux held up his own hands and looked at them with a slight grin.

"So we are."

Ren finished packing the rest of his things into his bag, and began to move towards the door. 

"Well, I'll just be going back to my own quarters, then. I'm sure you'll be more than happy to have your privacy again, huh?"

"Wait," Hux said, getting out of bed and walking towards him. "It's only 0700. Neither of us has to be on the bridge for another hour. Why don't you stay and have breakfast with me?"

Now Ren did look directly at Hux, and what he read there put a touch of unease into his heart. Hux wanted to talk. About---it.

And Ren wasn't ready for that.  
At all.

And, the worst thing of all: there were visible love-bite marks all along the redhead's neck, from his jaw to his collarbone. Something that definitely hadn't been there, before.

He dropped his eyes and put his hand on the door button.

"Thank you, but that's alright, Hux. I, um, should probably go and take a shower. I reek of alcohol. I'll see you later, okay?"

And without another word he was gone, fleeing down the hallways towards his quarters.


	9. Chapter 9

"Please, sit. I really want you to talk to me about this."

Ren sat but didn't say anything, keeping his gaze on the floor.

It was about a week after they had separated, and Ren had been avoiding Hux like the plague the entire time.

He had volunteered for a mission that kept him away for 5 days, and when he came back, he found reasons and excuses to never be in the same place as Hux.

Eventually Hux called him into his office and shut the door, determined to force Ren to face him and talk about what had happened between them.

"I don't want to talk about it," Ren said quietly.

Hux was silent. Then he said, softly, "It's not one sided."

Ren looked up. "What's not one sided?"

"You said, that night, that you think I'm attractive. I severely disagree with that opinion, but thank you. And it's not one sided. I think you're very handsome, Ren."

A smile lit Ren's entire face, making him even more attractive.

"Thank you."

"So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is that . . . I like it. What happened between us. Or what ALMOST happened," he corrected with a grin.

"So did I."

"Right. So here's the thing, if you want to look at this from a 'logic' standpoint. We're both young, and we both have needs. And we've already established that we're attracted to each other. So . . . why not just go with that? Why not 'help' each other out?"

Ren looked at him quietly. 

"There's nothing wrong with that, is there? We're both adults, and we've known each other for a long time, now. And Snoke IS always saying we need to learn to get along, right?"

Ren started to laugh. "I'm not sure that this is what he had in mind."

Hux got out of his chair and came towards Ren. He reached up and snagged his fingers in his hair, pulling him close.

"Believe it or not, for once, I don't give a damn what Snoke thinks," he said, timidly pressing his lips into Ren's, hoping against hope that he'd kiss him back.

He did.

~~~

After the talk in Hux's office, they met together several times a week for sex. It was a bright, playful dalliance in an otherwise dreary routine, and the lighthearted fun of the situation kept it from being awkward.

Both of their moods improved considerably, the stress of the day floating away after each romp, and for this, both were grateful.

As much as he was enjoying the situation, however, Hux couldn't help but feel like something was missing. There was a part of him, small but vocal, that wanted . . . more. And he felt like maybe Ren felt the same. The physical attention the knight gave him was often very tender, and sweet.

Not at all characteristics you'd associate with someone who is simply coming to another person to satisfy carnal desire, and nothing more.

There were periods afterwards, when both were laying in one or the others bed catching their breath after their latest tryst, that Ren would look at him, or reach out to smooth his hair back, where it felt as though he wanted to say something. Something important.

But he never did.

And that terrified Hux beyond all logical reasoning.

As much as he thought he might like to pursue something with Ren that wasn't purely sexual, something that was real and meaningful--he was afraid.

To put his trust in someone like that again, to have faith that the other person wouldn't smash his heart into pieces, like Jysella did . . .

He just wasn't ready for that.

As it was, their situation continued on like that for several weeks.

One day, in the early afternoon, Hux stood in his office after the latest meeting, his back to the door, rummaging through his file cabinet in the corner.

Ren quietly crept into his office, came up behind him and circled both of his arms around Hux, tightly, pinning Hux's arms down at his sides. He buried his face into the side of Hux's neck, softly nuzzling him.

"Get off of me," Hux said, trying to sound stern but unable to keep the smile out of his voice.

Ren ignored him, instead beginning to kiss down his neck while trailing his fingers lightly, teasingly down his ribs. Hux's control broke for just a moment, as his body shuddered involuntarily at Ren's touch.

"Stop," he repeated, shrugging out of Ren's arms. "I can't do this right now; I've got work to do."

Ren stood still in the middle of the room; then he came at Hux again.

"Come on," he whispered, his arms going around Hux's shoulders. "It won't kill you to take a little break, will it?"

This time Hux broke out of his arms, and pushed him back.

"Ren, I DO NOT have time for this," he repeated, louder.

Ren blinked as if he had been slapped in the face. Hux took in his hurt expression, and said,

"I thought we agreed; we would only do, uh, /this/, when the time is right for both of us."

"'That?'", Ren repeated, folding his arms across his chest. "Maybe I didn't come in here for /that/. Maybe I just wanted to spend time with you."

Hux went to sit at his desk, shaking his head. "That wasn't in the deal, and you know it."

"What 'deal'?!", Ren shouted at him  
angrily.

"THIS. The hugging. The kissing. The, oh, I don't know what to call it! But it wasn't part of the deal, Ren. You're--you're wanting more from me than I can give you."

Ren was quiet, then he said, slowly, "So, you're okay with making love; but when I want to spend real, actual time with you, you reject me?"

"We never made love, Ren. We had sex. There's a difference."

"Hux, I think I might be in lo--"

"NO!", Hux roared at him, covering his ears with his hands. "I can't hear that. I can't ACCEPT that! Please, get out of here."

Ren backed away quickly, his eyes still on Hux as he moved to the door.

"I'm sorry, Hux," he said softly, as he put his hand on the button. "I promise, I won't bother you again."

He left before Hux could say another word, and he sat in his desk, staring at the doorway.

~~~

The next few weeks were difficult ones for Hux.

Ren no longer came to see him, and he refused to speak to him unless absolutely necessary. At meetings, Ren would say his piece and then stare out the window the rest of the time, and at drills, he chose to oversee the squads farthest away from where Hux was.

And Hux tried to convince himself that it was better that way.

You were a fool, anyway, to even be having sex with him, he often thought to himself. And you were right, to make him leave before things could get any more complicated. What--what he wanted would never have worked out. You know that.

Yet as hard as he lied to himself, he couldn't escape the depression that consumed him, at Ren's absence from his personal life. He often found himself thinking back to the week they spent joined at the hands, and, absurdly, he almost wished that they would do something to anger Snoke again, to be thrust back into that situation.

At any rate, he carried on as best he could, and threw himself face first into his work as a distraction.

One night, Hux strolled into the conference room for a meeting, and noticed that Ren wasn't there.

Nothing odd about that; oftentimes Ren was kept out of evening meetings in lieu of training with Snoke.

But then he wasn't at morning drill, either.

Or the afternoon inspection.

And he wasn't in his usual spot training with Snoke the following morning.

After the afternoon meeting, Hux casually made his way to Snoke's chambers, to ask about Ren.

Snoke informed him that Ren had been sick for a few days now, running a high fever and unable to leave his bed.

Hux thanked him for the information and left, intending to go back to his office and start the evenings paperwork.

Because after all, Ren wasn't his problem, not his concern, and there was no cause at all to be worried about him , or to care that he was sick.

None whatsoever.

Which is why ten minutes later he found himself standing outside Ren's doors, and knocking timidly.

No answer.

He pushed on the door lightly, and it opened, being unlocked.

"Ren?, he called out softly, making his way through the dim rooms. "Are you here?"

No response.

He ventured into Ren's bedroom, and what he saw made him have to lean weakly against the doorframe.

Ren had every blanket imaginable piled high over his body, which was curled up into a ball. His already pale skin practically glowed in the darkness, and dark circles stood out under his eyes, which were closed.

As Hux approached him closer, he could see that Ren was shivering, shaking quite hard in spite of all the covers resting on him.

He sat on the edge of Ren's bed and put his hand to his forehead.

He was burning up.

Ren woke up slightly, and scowled when he saw who his visitor was.

"What are you doing here?", he growled at him, in a voice scarily devoid of all strength.

"Snoke said you were sick, so I came to check on you."

Ren turned away from him and faced the wall. 

"You don't need to be here. I'm fine. A medical droid should be here in a few minutes with my medicine."

As if on cue, a loud knocking sounded on Ren's outer door at that moment. Before Ren could say anything, Hux got up an answered the door himself, greeting the droid and taking the bottle of elixir and the pills from it.

He walked back into Ren's room.

"Sit up; you have to take your medicine."

Ren slowly turned around and faced him.

"Why are you still here? Where's the droid?"

"For all intents and purposes, I'M the kriffing droid tonight. Now sit up!"

Ren struggled into a sitting position, and reluctantly held out his hand for the cup.

"You take 3 teaspoons of this every two hours, along with one of these pills," Hux told him, watching as he swallowed down the horribly bitter concoction.

"Fine. Write it down for me or something, so I remember it later."

"You don't need me to write it down."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm going to stay here with you, so I'll just tell you when your next dose is."

Ren looked at him suspiciously.

"You're going to stay here? Like, for a few hours?"

"More like all night."

"WHY?"

Hux sighed and took off his coat, hanging it nearly on the chair next to Ren's bed. 

"For one, because you're helpless right now, and need someone to take care of you."

"And the other reason?"

Hux blushed, and looked down at the floor. Then he looked at Ren's face.

He leaned over him, took his face between his fingertips, and kissed him, very, very softly.

Ren pushed him away weakly.

"Ah. I see, now. You must have been missing our 'alone time', right? You must think I'm an easy target, now, laying here weak and tired and unable to refuse forgiving you. Well, forget it, Hux. No matter what you say, we're not doing that anymore."

"Is that really why you think I came? To try and work my way back into your pants?"

Ren shrugged. "Why else would you be here?"

"Because . . . because I love you."

"You what?", Ren asked him incredulously, sure that his fever was making him hallucinate.

"Because I love you, Ren. I think I have since that first time you kissed me. That was one of the best days of my entire life, by the way, even if YOU were too drunk to remember it," he teased him.

"It's not my fault you got me drunk on purpose, so that you could take advantage of me."

"YOU were the one making all the moves!"

"Not the way I remember it."

Hux rolled his eyes and sighed. 

"You're ready for this, then? Really ready? Just because we love each other doesn't mean our relationship will change overnight, you know. We're still going to argue. We're still going to get on each other's nerves. I'm still going to want to strangle you in your sleep sometimes."

"If you don't quit that jerking around you do in your sleep, I might strangle YOU, first," Ren replied with a smirk.

"Okay. I can handle that."

"Me, too."

"In the meantime, though, you need to lay down and get some rest, so the medicine has a chance to work. I'll wake you up when it's time for your next dose."

Ren laid back and closed his eyes, still talking.

"We should plan a trip together at some point. Go somewhere pretty, like Naboo. Or Endor. I bet I could find some Vader artifacts on Endor! Or maybe--"

"Yes, Ren. I'll plan out a trip, our wedding, our honeymoon, our kids, our future home, even our joint funerals, okay? Now go to SLEEP!"

"I want a black coffin," Ren said, turning over on his side. "Or, no, maybe dark blue. Yeah, dark blue. And at my wake I want there to be chocolate cake, and--"

Hux leaned up and over him to kiss him, shutting him up.

When he pulled away, Ren muttered, "Right. Sleep. Okay."

He twisted his head around and looked back at Hux.

"You promise that this isn't a dream? That when I wake up, you'll still be here?"

"I promise. Now sleep. And Ren?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."


	10. Chapter 10

Ren woke up some time later, in the dark.

He had a brief moment of panic, thinking that his fever was worse than ever, as he felt like he was absolutely roasting.

He didn't immediately attribute his warmth to the body that was cuddled into his, but when he did, his face broke out in a slow smile.

Hux was laying next to him, his arms wrapped around his chest, leg thrown across Ren's waist, and his face buried in Ren's neck.

Ren reached out, and wrapped his free arm around Hux's shoulders, pulling him in tightly.

He was feeling better already.


End file.
